Switch construction



Patented Oct. 28, 1952 2,616,002 SWITCH CONSTRUCTION Alex J. Junker andJohn J. Koski, Toledo, Ohio,

assignors to Willys-Overland Motors, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a corporationof Delaware I Application March 11, 1950, Serial No. 149,174

"This invention relates-to switches and especially to switches of thepush button type particularly adapted for use in motor vehicles tocornpletean electrical circuit through a horn or other electricallyenergizable unit.

The invention embraces the provision of a push button type of switchconstruction wherein the movable circuit completing element of theswitch is normally supported in open circuit position by distortable oryieldable material capable of returning to its initial position whenapplication of force is removed from the button actuating the movableelement.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a push buttontype of circuit closing switch means in which the movable button andcircuit completing contact are yieldably maintained in open circuitposition through the utilization of mounting means formed of rubber orthe like wherein the use of metallic springs is eliminated.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a push buttonmounting construction embodying radially spaced su porting elementsacting against yieldable abutments, the latter being distortable inradial directions during circuit open and closing movements of the pushbutton and contact elements.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mountingconstruction for a push button element of a switch device incorporatinga support formed of molded rubber or the like which serves as a sounddampening or attenuating means for eliminat ng the transmission ofnoise.

Another obiect of the invention resides in a simplified mounting meansfor a push button element and circuit completing contact of a switchmechanism wherein the number of elements have been re uced yet providinga construction which is positive in operation and one in which wear ofthe parts or elements is eliminated and which is capable of long lifeand which is not liable to become disassembled in use.

Another object of the invention resides in the provis on of a simplifiedmounting means for the push button and movable contact elements of aswitch construction whereby the assembly of the elements may beaccomplished in a minimum of time and which may be carried on byunskilled labor whereby the construction may be economi callymanufactured in mass quantities.

A further benefit of the invention is the provision of a resilient oryieldable mounting means for a horn button and contact element whereinthe same functions to automatically center the V Claims. (Cl. 200-59)horn button so as to render the movable switch contact at all times inproper position to engage a stationary switch contact to positivelyassure completion of the electrical circuit when the button is actuatedto circuit closing position.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of this inventionsuch as relate to the arrangement, operation and function of the relatedelements of the structure, to various details of construction and tocombinations of parts, elements per se, and to economies of manufactureand numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration ofthe specification and drawing of a form of the invention, which may bepreferred, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a vehicle steering wheelillustrating a form of switch constriction of our invention associatedtherewith;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 22of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially onthe line 4- -4 of Figure 2,

and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line55 of Figure 2.

While we have shown a form of our invention as especially configuratedand adapted to energize or complete an electrical circuitof a signaldevice on a vehicle as for example, a horn, it is to be understood thatwe contemplate the utilization of the arrangement of our inventionwherever the same may be found to be adaptable.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first with respect to Figure 1there is illustrated a steering wheel ll! of a vehicle including acircular rim 1 I, a central hub portion [2 which is connected with therim H by means of spokes or bars M. The steering wheel constructionincluding the rim H, hub l2 and spokes I4 is preferably formed of moldedplastic or the like as an integral unit, the structure being reinforcedby means of metal bars or wires l5 and I6 imbedded in the moldedplastic. Disposed centrally of the hub I2 is a push button constructionl8 particularly shown in Figure 2 which is formed with a curved exteriorupper surface as shown in Figure 2 which blends with the exteriorcurvature or contour of the hub portion 12 to present a smooth andpleasing appearance. The button or member I8 is movably supported in amanner hereinafter explained for effecting a completion of an electricalcircuit. The button 18 may be formed of molded plastic or other resinousma- 3 terial and may be oonfigurated and colored to present anattractive design and appearance.

The hub portion E2 of the steering wheel is mounted upon the upperextremity of a steering post or shaft 20 the latter being connected atits lower end to suitable steering gear (not shown) for manipulating thedirigible wheels of a vehicle. The shaft 28 is suitably enclosed withina tube, column or sleeve 22 which is nonrotatably supported upon thevehicle. The mounting means for the steering wheel hub I2 includes ametal sleeve or bushing 24 which is molded, in the hub l2 and is heldagainst rotation by means of the reinforcing bar 16 extending into arecess formed in the sleeve 24, this feature being particularlyillustrated in Figure 2. The sleeve or bushing 26 is provided with ahollow interior,a portion of the Wall being tapered to cooperate or fitover a correspondingly tapered portion 25 of the shaft 20 whereby thesteering wheel unit is assembled in centered relation with the. steeringpost or shaft 2-53. The upperend of the tapered portion 26' terminatesin a threaded tenon 21' to receive a securing nut 28, a washer 28 beinginterposed between the upper end of the sleeve '24. and the nut 28. Aportion of the interior wall of the sleeve 24 and an adjacent portion-ofthe exterior wall of the steering post or shaft 2 3 are provided withcooperating knurled configurations 3d so that when the nut 28 is tightlydrawn up, the cooperating knurled configurations 3Q prevent relativerotation between the steering wheel and the steering post, the taperedportion 26 serving to center the post 29 with the hub l 2.

The column or sleeve 22 extends into a cylindrical recess 32 formed inthe hub 52 asshown in Figure 2 and is adapted to receive a bushin or.cup-like member 33 which extends into the upper portion of the sleeve22.

The lower end of the member 33 is flanged inwardly as at 35 forming aball race for accommodating a, plurality of bearing balls 36. A-sleevemember 31' in slidable engagement with the steering post 20 has itsupper portion flanged outwardly as at 38 to form an upper race for thebearing balls .36. Disposed above the flange portion or race 33 is adisk or. washer cc and disposed between the bushing'z l and disk 48 isan expansive coil spring l! serving to exert a down wardly directedforce to maintain the race '38 in contact with, the bearing balls '35.Surrounding the lower end portionof the sleeve 311 is a ring or annulus33 which is assembled with the sleeve, an end portion a l of the sleeve31 being swaged or spun outwardly to secure the sleeve and annulus '43in assembled relationship. Disposed between the annulus 43 and the race35 an annular' dust guard and grease retainer .45 of felt or othersuitable material. The bearing construction provided by bearing balls asand races .35 and 38 serve to center shaft or post is in the steeringcolumn or tube 22.

Means areprovided for conveying electrical energyto a metal memberEli-carried by the push button It, the member 58 'forming a relativelymovable contactrof theswitch mechanism hereinaiter described in furtherdetail. The steering post 2c is of tubular or hollow configuration andextending through the hollow interior of the shaft. isa currentconducting elementv or wire 52 which :is insulated .and which isprovided at its upper :end with a contact piece '3 which engages acontact button 54 which issnugly secured in a :bore formed in aninsulating sleeve Extending into the interior of the upperend of thepost 20 is a metal sleeve 51 which has a flange 58 at its upper portionadapted to abut the upper end of the post 20 so as to predetermine theposition of the sleeve 57 in the post. The sleeve 5? is of an interiordiameter to slidably accommodate the member 55 of insulating material sothat the latter may be reciprocated in the sleeve 5'! to facilitate the;closing of the switch mechanism in a manner hereinafter explained. Thelower end of the sleeve 51 is flanged inwardly as at Bil providing aledge to support an expansive coil spring til disposed between the ledge59 and the lower extremity of the insulating member 55. The spring 6ifunctions to normally urge the insulating member 55 in an upwarddirection so as to maintain engagement of the abutment 54 with therelatively movable switch contact member fill.

The circuit of a signaling device or other electrically energized meansis completed by the member 56 contacting some portion of the uppersurfgaceof thenut 28 carried E'at'the upperend of the steering post"28.. The steering-post being a metal part of; the vehicleassemblyqforms a part of the ground orreturn conductor so :as: tocomplete the electrical circuit with a battery or other source ofcurrent. Means are provided for normally maintaining the button it andthe contact member 59 carried thereby in a predetermined position withthe switch mechanism out of closed or circuit energizing position. Asparticularly shown in Figures 2 and 3, the hub portion l2 of thesteering wheel unit is formed with a circular recess 66 providing aledge 65, the latter adapted to support ansannulusor ring 36 formed ofsheet metal. The ring 66 is securedto the hub l2 by means of a pluralityof screws .67 extending through suitable openings in the ring andthreaded into registering openings formed in the hub 12. In theembodiment illustrated 'as shown in Figure 3 there are three screws forsecuring the annulus 66 to the ledge 65.

Mounted upon the ring 65 is a plurality of brackets 69 each of which isformed of U-shaped configuration. Each of thebrackets'fidis formed withprojecting flanges or ear port-ions lo-which are. spot weldedas at '1!to the-ring 6.6. Disposed Within the iii-shaped configuration of eachbracket is an element 72 formed of yieldable or flexible material as forexample, rubber, having a fairly high degree of resilience orflexibility. Each element is fixedly secured within its respectivebracket by the indenting or corner portions M of the brackets whichextend into adjacent recesses formed in the elements 7'2 to preventrelative bodily movement of the elements with respect to the brackets.Each resilient element 12 is formed with a cylindrical bore adapted toaccommodate a cylindrically shaped plunger or detent member 16. Eachborein an element i2 is terminated by a wall portion 11 adapted toengage the end of a plunger 16 as particularly shown in gure ,2. Theabutment or wall 7"! is integrally molded as a partof the flexibleelement 12 and is. adapted to yield outwardly in a radial direction withrespectto the axis of the steering wheel hub I! for a purposehereinafter explained. Each wall ll isprovided with a small opening 18forming an air relief to prevent air lock between the plunger i6 and thewall when these elements are assembled together. The button l8 formingthe manipulating mean-s for the switch construction is formed with anintegral annularly shaped depending portion 89 which lies within an areabounded by the brackets 69 as shown in Figure 3. The depending annulus80 is provided with three openings or recesses 8| adapted for respectiveregistration and alignment with the plungers or detents 16. It should benoted that each of the recesses or openings 8| is of a lesser diameterthan that of the plunger 16 cooperating therewith, the extremity of theplunger or detent adjacent an opening being rounded or curved asindicated at 83 so that an end portion of each detent 16 partiallyextends into a recess 8|. The resilient or yieldable wall 1'! is moldedin a manner having an inherent stress acting radially upon its adjacentdetent 16 to yieldingly hold the detent in cooperative relation with itsrespective recess 8| formed in the annulus 82 of the manipulating buttonl8. As particularly shown in Figure 2 the bores formed in the resilientelements 72 are normally in a position to maintain the detent 18substantially in a plane normal to the axis of the steering post 25.Disposed adjacent the annulus B is a cup-shaped member 50 which ismovable with the button l8. of the ledge 85 are bent upwardly to formears 84 which snugly and frictionally engage the inner wall of thedepending annulus 80 to maintain the cup shaped member 50 in assembledrelation with the button H8. The member 50, being in metallic contactwith the button 54 at the extremity of the current conductor 52,provides a movable contact member of the switch construction. Thus upondepression of the manipulating button l8, some portion of the ledge 85of the member 50 will be brought into metallic engagement with the nut28 carried at the upper end of the steering post 20. This engagementcompletes the electrical circuit through the horn or other signal device(not shown) with which the circuit may be connected. The depression ofbutton l8 distorts the resilient elements 72 so that the detents 15 maybe canted radially downwardly as the button |3 is depressed to completethe electrical circuit. As soon as pressure is removed from the buttonl8, the inherent resiliency in the elements '12 returns the detents '16to their normal position as indicated in Figure 2, and restoring thebutton l8 to open circuit position with the ledge 85 out of contact withthe nut 2 8.

The periphery of the depending annularlyshaped portion 80 of the buttoni8 is provided with pairs of vertically extending bosses 90, a boss ofeach pair being disposed adjacent either side of a recess 8| as shown inFigure 5. The pairs of bosses serve as a guiding means to direct thedetents l6 into registration with their respective recesses 8| duringthe operation of assembling the horn button l3 in position. It will benoted from Figure that the inner edges 92 of the bosses convergeslightly in an upward direction so as to facilitate guiding the detentsinto the recesses.

It will be apparent that the switch of our invention is of simpleconstruction in which the components may be readily and quicklyassembled and which is positive in its operation and capable of longlife.

It is apparent that, within the scope of the invention, modificationsand difierent arrangements may be made other than is herein dis" closed,and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the inventioncomprehending all variations thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A switch construction'for an electrical circuit including incombination, a support; a plurality of yieldable abutments mounted onthe Peripherally spaced portionsher;

support; each of said abutments being formed with a recess; a manuallyactuable member centrally mounted with respect to said abutments; saidmember being formed with recesses in substantial alignment respectivelywith said spaced abutments; an element disposed in the recess in eachabutment and extending into a recess in said member aligned therewith;said yieldable abutments being arranged to normally maintain said memberin a predetermined position; a metal contact element carried by saidmember; a relatively stationary contact element; said abutments beingformed to be flexed upon relative movement of the member to effectengagement of the contact element carriedby the member with therelatively stationary contact element.

2. A switch construction for an electrical circuit including incombination, a support mema manually movable member; yieldable abutmentmeans carried by one of said members; a plurality of spaced recessesformed in the other of said members; a plurality of plungers en gageablewith said recesses and said abutment means, said abutment means beingarranged to yieldingly maintain said plungers and said manually movablemember in a predetermined position; a contact member carried by themanually movable member; a relatively stationary contact member; saidabutment means being arranged to be flexed upon relative movement of themanuall movable member to efiect engagement of the contact members.

3. A switch construction of the push button type for use with a post andsteering wheel assembly of a vehicle, a relatively movable push buttonmember associated with the vehicle steering Wheel; abutment means ofyieldable mate rial carried by the steering wheel; a plurality ofplungers disposed between said yieldable abutment means and said pushbutton member for normally biasing the push button member to apredetermined position; a contact element carried by said push buttonmember; said abutment means and plungers being arranged to guide thepush button member to complete an electrical circuit through the contactmember carried thereby and the steering post.

4. A switch construction of the push button type for use with a post andsteering wheel assembly of a vehicle, a relatively movable push buttonelement; a plate element mounted on the steering Wheel; yieldableabutment means carried by one of said elements; a plurality of spacedrecesses formed in the other of said elements; a plurality of plungersengageable with said abutment means and extending into said recesses fornormally and yieldably supporting the push button element in apredetermined position; a contact member carried by said push buttonelement; said abutment means adapted to yield upon relative axialmovement of the push button element to establish an electrical circuitthrough the contact member carried thereby and the steering post.

5. A switch construction of the push button type for use with a post andsteering wheel assembly of a vehicle including a relatively movable pushbutton element associated with the steering wheel; a plurality ofabutments of yieldable material carried by the steering wheel andcircumferentially spaced about the axis thereof; a plurality of radiallyarranged plungers disposed between said yieldable abutments and saidpush button member for normally and yieldably supporting the push buttonmember in a predetermined position; a contact member carried by saidpush button element; said abutments and plungers being arranged to guidethe .push button element upon relative axial movement thereofv toestablish an electrical circuit through the contact member and thesteering post.

6. vA switch construction of thepush button type for use with a post andsteering wheel assembly of a vehicle, a relatively movable push buttonelement associated with the steering wheel; a plurality of membersformed of yieldable material carried by the steering wheel andcircumferentially spaced about the axis thereof; each of said membersbeing formed with a socket; a plunger mounted in each of said socketsand projecting exteriorly thereof; said push button element being formedwith a plurality of accesses each of which is respectively engaged bythe projecting portion of a plunger; a contact member carried by thepushbutton element; said members of yieldable material being arranged to beflexed upon relative axial movement of the push button element toestablish an electrical circuit through the contact member carriedthereby and the steering post.

7. A switch construction or" the push button type for use with a postand steering wheel assembly of a vehicle, a relatively movable pushbutton element associated with the steering wheel; a plurality ofmembers formed of flexible rubber circumferentially spaced about theaxis of the steering wheel; a bracket supporting each of the members;each of said members being formed with a socket; a plunger mounted ineach of said sockets and projecting exteriorly thereof; said push buttonelement being formed with .a plurality of openings of lesser diameterthan that of the plungers, each of said openings adap ed to receive theprojecting portion of a plunger; .a contact member carried by the pushbutton element; said members being arranged to be flexed upon relativeaxial movement of the push button element to establish an electricalcircuit through the contact member carried thereby and the steeringpost.

8. A switch construction for use with a steering post and steering wheelassembly of a vehicle including, in combination, a plurality of bracketscarried by the steering wheel and circumferentially spaced with respectto the axis thereof; an abutment formed of yieldable material carriedbyv each of :said brackets; a push button centrally mounted with respectto the axis of the steering wheel; a metal contact member carried bysaid push button; recesses formed in said'push button in respectivealignment with the circumferentially arranged abutments; a plungerdisposed between each of said recesses and a yieldable abutment; saidpush button adapted to be moved axially to establish a metallic currentconing post and steering wheel assembly of a vehicle including, incombination, a plurality of brackets circumferentially spaced withrespect to the axis of the steering wheel; an abutment formed offlexible rubber carried by'each of said brackets; a push buttoncentrally mounted with respect to the axis of the steering wheel; ametal contact member carried by said, push button;

recesses formed in saidipush button inrespective alignment with thecircumferentially arranged abutments; a plurality of plungers, eachcarried by an abutment and arranged to extend into one of the recessesformed in the push button; said push button'adapted to be moved axiallyto bring the contact member carried thereby into circuit establishingposition with the steering post to complete an electrical circuit; saidabutments normally and yieldingly maintaining said push button andcontact member in open circuit position.

10. A switch construction for use with a steering post and steeringwheel of a vehicle including in combination a plurality of bracketscircumferentially spaced with respect to the axis of the steering wheel;an abutment formed of yieldable material carried by each of saidbrackets; a push button centrally mounted with respect to the axis ofthe steering wheel; a metal contact member carried by said push button;a nut threaded upon the steering post; recesses formed in said pushbutton in respective alignment with the circumferentially arrangedabutments; a plunger arranged in each of said recesses and in engagementwith a yieldable abutment; said push button adapted to be moved axiallyto bring the contact member carried thereby into engagement with the nutcarried by the steering post to complete an electrical circuit; saidyieldable abutments normally and yieldingly maintaining said push buttonin a position holding the contact carried thereby out of engagement withsaid nut.

ALEX J. JUNKER. JOHN J. KOSKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,967,030 Kull July 17, 193 i2,061,222 Creson Nov. 17, 1936 2,181,783 Creson Nov. 28, 1939

